Of Argonauts and States
by PeaceLoveAndCheese
Summary: Once upon a time, two little boys met on a battlefield... and stayed there. And then they grew up. Dakota/Jason friendship. No slash.


**HELLO FANFICTION! **

**MERRY CHRISTMAS!**

**Well, you guys haven't heard from me... since October, I believe. Well I'm back! And have I got presents for you!**

**I've got a major list of projects that I have been working on and hope to finish over the Christmas break. This one I just got done with and it took me a good six hours to complete, so who knows how long this is going to take, but hopefully it'll all get done by the time I go back to school. **

**Alright, here we go:**

**1. Of Argonauts and States-Percy Jackson and the Olympians, aka, the thing you clicked on just now.**

**2. Connections-PJO: I need to get this completed, as it was a request and hasn't been done yet, so that is my top priority.**

**3. Title Pending-Doctor Who Fic: It's about the Doctor's regeneration, so it needs to be done before Christmas, which means I've got three days. Woo.**

**4. The Rants of the Mighty Athena/The Forest of the Dead-chapters coming soon!**

**5. Nightmares-Harry Potter, something I've been working on for a while**

**6. Cold and Alone-Sherlock, but will probably be put off until the 12 Days of Sherlock.**

**7. The Calufrax Calefaction-Doctor Who, whump, all that good stuff. **

**8. Title Pending-Doctor Who, Ponds after the Doctor left**

**9. Contagious-Doctor Who, possible, but not really sure.**

**10. Strength-Avengers, Captain America and Thor centric**

**11. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas-PJO, will probably be up closer to Christmas... but IDK.**

**... I probably have more, but I can't think of them right now. So... you'll get all this (probably) before the New Year! Stay tuned!**

**And now, some Jason/Dakota bromance fluff. ENJOY!**

**WARNING: GETS INCREASINGLY DARKER THROUGHOUT THE STORY**

**Disclaimer: I can't even keep ahold of my copy of the House of Hades. I don't own this. **

* * *

Camp Jupiter provided a lot of things that demigods needed to survive: food, water, shelter, training, weapons, medicine, a home that was otherwise unaccessible, depending on who you were. Some were lucky and had mortal parents that they could return home to during the holidays, some were legacies and had family a mere mile or so away. And then there were the few who had no family at all to speak of.

Jason was one of these. He didn't have a family, he couldn't ever remember having a family. Lupa had given him to the Legion when he arrived at the age of two and Camp Jupiter had been the only home he had ever had. There was no memory of a mother or siblings. He knew who his father was and though it was somewhat comforting to know he wasn't an orphan, he had never talked to his father and it was pretty much like he was calling a statue or a picture his dad.

He stuck out at Camp. He was the youngest camper and had been for six years. All the other campers were older and the younger children in New Rome weren't typically allowed to play with him, considering he had already been inducted into the legion. He trained a bit with the older kids and allowed them to coo over how adorable he was in the oversized helmet that was the smallest one available and how he trained with a dagger after trying to lift a sword and falling over. He was short and scrawny and too young to really do anything. He wasn't allowed to go on guard duty and he wasn't allowed to fight and he wasn't allowed to leave the barracks after dark without an older kid going with him. He was alone in the middle of a whole group of people.

The praetors tried to keep him busy by letting him run errands for them, but it didn't really help. He was a kid with too much time on his hands and too little attention. As most people know, this is just asking for trouble. Jason, however, didn't particularly enjoy causing trouble. He didn't really need extra attention. Instead, he starved himself of it, becoming introverted and shy and altogether cut himself off from human contact.

No one payed him much mind, not that they did in the first place. Most people were too busy to talk to a child while they were training or sleeping or eating. They all saw him as just a face, too young to be their peer and too old to be coddled or babied. So they mainly left Jason alone.

He didn't have any friends. He didn't really want any. He would spend the days by himself, walking around the principia, playing with grass and sticks, pretending he was a great hero that everyone would someday admire. He pretended he went on a great many quests and did a great many things and that he had a great many friends to do it with. Then he would return to the barracks after dinner and go to sleep and dream about the same things. Nightmares didn't bother him. Just another thing that didn't think Jason was worth it.

It was after dinner on Friday. It was Jason's first time watching the War Games. He was still too little to participate, being only eight, but the Centurion of the fifth cohort had agreed to let him watch this time. Maybe it was because he had only been eight for approximately eighteen hours and no one had told him "Happy Birthday" in this time, maybe he had gotten tired of Jason bugging him about it, but either way, Jason found himself standing in line with the rest of the legionnaires, waiting for the praetor to sound the call for the games.

"Before we begin," the praetor, a guy named Ryan, said, "I would like to introduce our newest camper." He turned to reach behind him a shoved a young boy, about Jason's age, in front of everyone. "This is Dakota Gafna. He is yet unclaimed. Who here will stand for him?"

There was silence. It seemed that no one wanted to stand for another eight year old kid. Considering Jason's unpopularity and the slightly mischievous smirk on the boy's face, they figured it would be better off not to be responsible for him.

Jason bit his lip and made a decision, one that would probably change his life.

"I'll stand for him."

The entire crowd turned to stare at him. Jason winced. His voice sounded too loud and too high in his ears. His cheeks burned and he knew he was probably blushing profusely. His helmet that he was wearing just for show fell down over his eyes and he shoved it up again.

The praetors looked at each other. They weren't sure how to deal with this one. Technically, Jason _could_ stand for the newcomer, being a full-fledged member of the legion for five years, almost as long as most of the campers. He knew all the rules and wasn't really one to misbehave. Besides, this Dakota kid and Jason were almost the same age. They could keep each other out of trouble... or get each other into it.

Ryan shrugged. "Alright. Jason Grace, you have stood for Dakota Gafna. Does your cohort accept him?"

There was a reluctant pounding of shields from the fifth. Jason, with his blush still creeping across his face, banged his foot against the stone, having no shield, but it could barely be heard.

Ryan nodded and straightened his cape. "Very good then. _Senatus populusque Romanus!"_

The rest of the campers echoed the cheer and began to charge off, ready for the Games. Dakota came to stand by Jason.

"Hi!" he chirped. "I'm Dakota!"

Jason looked up at him through his too-big helmet. "I'm Jason."

Dakota said, "How old are you?"

Jason hesitated. He wasn't really used to someone asking all these questions about him at all, much less in one go. He held up eight fingers, his helmet falling down again.

Dakota nodded. "I'm nine. Well, eight and three quarters." He grinned, showing off a missing tooth. "What should we do?"

Jason pointed off towards the hilltop, where he had been instructed to sit during the Games, so as to be safe enough from the danger of the action, but close enough to see it. "We can watch."

Dakota nodded eagerly. "I can see their swords! And spears! And those cool cannon things! Is this going to be like a movie? Are they going to blow stuff up and stuff? Are people going to die? That's so awesome! Whoa, an elephant!" Dakota ran off towards the hillside, still yelling back about movies and swords and things Jason really didn't understand.

Jason followed after him, pushing his helmet up with wide eyes, wondering exactly what he had gotten himself into.

* * *

"Are you sure about this, Kota?" Jason peeked over the stone wall at the top of the hill they were on. His knees hurt from being stuck on the cold metal for the past five minutes while Dakota made final flight checks.

"Of course!" Dakota grinned and tightened the strap on his shield. "You haven't lived until you've been sledding!"

The two ten-year olds had stolen the rectangular shields from the armory and were currently sitting in them. The shields were turned upside down, so the smooth edge was touching the grass and the basin-type bit was being used as a seat.

"We'll get in trouble..." Jason warned, looking down the steep slope of the hill anxiously.

"Nah!" Dakota took a drink from the water bottle full of Kool-Aid he had attatched to his belt loop. "One, two, three!" He placed both hands on Jason's back and shoved. Hard.

The son of Jupiter screamed as he went plummeting down the hill at about a billion miles per hour, which was an exaggeration, of course, but when you've only gone as fast as your feet will let you your entire life, being shoved down a hill on a metal shield tended to make one's brain go a little haywire.

Jason could feel the wind whipping through his hair and stinging his eyes. He could hear Dakota shouting behind him, most definitely having shoved his own sled down this hill of death. Jason's voice had now been frozen in his throat and he was pretty sure he had forgotten how to breathe.

The sled picked up speed down the hill, aiming for a large rock at the bottom. Jason shrieked. His instincts kicked in and he leaned to the side, the shield taking his momentum and running with it. He skidded to the left and kept going, down the hill towards... New Rome. Oh gods.

He could hear Dakota calling his name frantically from behind him. He managed to turn his head to look back. His friend was running full pelt down the hill after him, but he couldn't keep up. Dakota was waving his arms frantically and shouting, but Jason couldn't really make out much except for, "Jason... you... stop... jump... LOOK OUT!"

The last thing was shouted louder than the rest, so Jason figured it had to be important. He turned and that was the last thing he saw before his shield flipped over, sending him soaring into the air. Time slowed down as he flew over the grass and landed behind a vegetable cart with a resounding THUD.

"Oh gods!" Dakota cried as he reached his friend. "Are you dead? Did I kill you? Jason, are you okay?"

He watched anxiously as Jason sat up, groaning. He had a rapidly forming bruise on his cheek and was covered in grass stains, but otherwise he looked unhurt. He looked at Dakota and grinned so wide that Dakota was sure it was going to split his face.

"That," Jason said, "Was awesome."

* * *

"Jason!" Dakota ran down the street from the Senate. "Jason! You'll never believe it!"

The son of Jupiter looked up from the book he was reading at his friend, who was panting heavily and grinning fit to burst. He placed a scrap of paper in to mark his spot. "What happened?"

Dakota's face shone. "I've been given a quest!"

"What?" Jason's eyes widened and he put the book down, completely forgotten. "Really? Why?"

Dakota beamed. "Because my dad apparently needed someone to go on a quest for him. To get rid of a group of Stymphalian birds that are nesting in one of his temples. Since I just turned twelve, the praetors decided that I should get my first quest!"

"That's awesome," Jason said. "Good luck."

Dakota grinned. "I won't need it. I'll have my best friend right there."

"What?" Jason was confused for a moment. "Wait… you mean… I'm going too?"

"Yeah!" Dakota crowed, bouncing on the balls of his feet in excitement.

"But I'm too young. Still eleven."

Dakota shrugged. "I asked. Ryan said that even though you don't fit the age requirement, you're still one of the best legionnaires the fifth cohort's got."

Jason warmed at the praise. It wasn't often that the praetors paid compliments, and complimenting the youngest of the legion was almost unheard of. "Really?"

Dakota nodded eagerly. "Really."

Jason resisted the urge to start jumping up and down. "Who's the third member?"

Dakota's smile dimmed. "That's the thing. No one was really eager to go on a quest with me leading it. Dylan tried to get someone to volunteer, but…" He shrugged. "I guess it's just us two."

Jason felt a knot growing in his stomach. "But… we should have three. Anything else…"

"I'm not superstitious," Dakota said, squaring his shoulders. "And who knows? Maybe the third member will just show up eventually. It's not really anything to worry about." His eyes said differently.

"When do we leave?" Jason asked. He was excited and nervous all at the same time and knew that putting of their departure would only increase the chance of them chickening out. Well, him anyway. Dakota was sort of stuck in this one.

"Tomorrow morning!" Dakota said, already running off. "Pack and get to sleep early, sunshine!"

Jason rolled his eyes, picked up his book and headed off after Dakota towards the barracks.

* * *

"Shhh!" Jason hissed as Dakota snapped a twig.

"Sorry," Dakota whispered, shifting his staff to the other hand. At camp, it was usually regulation to fight with a sword and Dakota was as good as any other legionnaire. But out of camp, he preferred to use a five foot wooden staff, tipped on both ends with Imperial Gold. Vines were carved into the wood and the staff generally looked like a shorter, slightly less-impressive version of his dad's _thyrsus. _

After their first quest had gone off without a hitch, the praetors had let them go on others almost as frequently as everyone else-which wasn't very often, but still. They only went in their duo, usually, as no one wanted to volunteer to hang out with the "Baby Legion," as the rest of the camp called them, along with the Fifth Cohort, at some points. Their latest had taken them into the middle of a forest, where they were now hiding out in some bushes, waiting to attack... something that they had heard walking around there.

"What do you think it is?" Dakota asked, shifting his feet and snapping another twig.

"Shhhh!" Jason said, gripping his sword tighter. "There!" He pointed slightly to a shadow moving towards their camp. It stopped at the edge and began moving towards the bushes.

"YAAAAAAAA!" Jason and Dakota both burst out of the bushes, weapons raised. The shadow whirled and threw something towards them. It hit Jason hard, above his eyes. Everything went black.

...

"I think he's coming around. Jason? Jason, can you hear me?"

Jason opened his eyes. Dakota's face was swimming in front of him. He blinked and tried to say, "I'm okay," but it came out more like a groan.

"Hi Sleeping Beauty!" Dakota said perkily.

Jason sat up and managed to form actual words. "What happened?"

"You got hit on the head with a shoe," Dakota told him, rocking back and forth on his knees.

"What?" Jason asked, putting a hand up to his head. Must have gotten hit harder than he thought. "Did you just say-"

"Yup," Dakota said. He gestured towards someone sitting at the edge of their camp. "Meet Kamikaze Shoe Girl."

"What?"

Dakota shrugged. "She won't tell me her real name. I'm just making this up as I go along."

Jason rolled his eyes at his friend and shakily stood up. "Allow me." He made his way carefully over to the girl sitting on a rock.

She glared at him as he sat down across from her. She was about thirteen or fourteen. She had dark skin and hair that was tied back in a braid, but it was cluttered with sticks and leaves. She was wearing a fancy white dress with a gold sash that was ripped in numerous places and so dirty the color was barely distinguishable. She had a cut on her cheek and one of her laced sandals was missing.

"Hi," Jason said. "I'm Jason." When she continued to stare at him, he sighed. "You know, you sort of owe me an apology."

"What?" she said. Jason grinned inwardly.

"You're the one who hit me on the head with your shoe. That isn't very nice."

She looked as if she were about to hit him. "You two are the ones who burst out of the bushes like dumb boys!"

"Hey!" Dakota exclaimed.

"You're the one who was wandering about like a monster or something."

"Well, you're the one who was stupid enough to get knocked out by a sandal in the first place."

"Fine. If you won't apologize, you could at least tell me what your name is."

She stayed silent.

Jason shrugged. "Alright." He called over to Dakota. "Hey, she's agreed to be called Kamikaze Shoe Girl for the time being!"

"Sweet!" Dakota yelled.

The girl sighed angrily. "Fine." She glared at him. "My name is Reyna."

"Nice to meet you Reyna," Jason said. "Now, who's your parent?"

* * *

Dakota found his friend sitting outside, clothed in shadows.

"Hey," he said. Jason looked up briefly and then adverted them to his hands, which were clenched into fists on his knees. "Are you okay?"

Jason sighed and kept his eyes fixated on his knees. "The Titans are rising and have taken the mountain. We have no way to stop them and the gods aren't helping, as usual. Oh, don't forget the earthquakes and the Mt. Saint Helens eruption a couple weeks ago. I was made centurion because Alex decided to leave us right now, at the beginning of what is most certainly going to be a war. And I've just been told that I might end the world when I turn sixteen and even if I don't, I'll probably die anyway. What do you think?"

"Right," Dakota muttered. "Stupid question." He gestured. "May I sit?"

Jason shrugged and moved over a bit.

Dakota sat down and took a drink of Kool-Aid. "You know, maybe you just need to look on the bright side of things."

"Like what, Dakota?" Jason said snappishly. Dakota ignored his tone and pressed forwards.

"Like the fact that if this is the end of the world, Octavian will probably shut up."

"Not funny," Jason mumbled, averting his eyes further.

Dakota sighed. "Look, Jay, I know you're stressed out about this-"

"Understatement of the year."

"But if you go down, you'll be going down fighting. And I'll be going down with you."

Jason's head snapped up, his eyes dangerously bright. "No. Don't you dare."

Dakota backed off a little bit. He had realized that Jason was fiercely protective of his friends, but didn't know that this would be his reaction to an unavoidable suggestion. "Okay, don't worry. I won't die on purpose."

"Promise me." Jason still had a hard look in his eyes, tinged with a strange sort of desperation.

"I promise," Dakota said. "I swear on the Styx that I will not follow you into the Underworld. Until my time," he added, not wanting to be roaming the earth for all eternity if Jason somehow decided to go first.

Jason nodded stiffly, somewhat satisfied, for now. He took a deep breath and stood up, shooting Dakota a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Come on. Dinner time."

He started off. Dakota watched him for a moment, before standing himself.

"Like it or not, Grace, where you go, I go," he said to Jason's retreating figure.

* * *

Dakota didn't notice until long after the final battle and he hated himself for it.

The war was pretty much mass chaos. Both their praetors had been killed fairly early on, a mistake the legion wasn't going to forgive themselves for anytime soon. They had had virtually no leadership whatsoever, though the centurions and older members of the legion had tried their best to take their places, but it wasn't the same, especially considering the new augur, a legacy of Apollo named Octavian, did his best to make things difficult.

The ending of the battle was... strange, to say the least. It seemed to just end, without much warning. Dakota had been fighting when Jason went up against the Titan, Krios and he really didn't know what had happened. He had just taken the point of his spear out of a monster's chest when someone screamed from nearby the Titan's throne. Dakota's heart froze for a moment before he turned his back on the rest of the battle, a slightly unwise move. He almost missed Jason removing his sword from the Titan's chest as the immortal dissolved into dust.

The battlefield froze. They all watched as Jason stood, his sword dangling and chest heaving for a moment, slightly bent over as he tried to regain some sort of composure. He straightened up and with precise, concentrated movements, took deliberate steps and toppled the throne that sat on top of the mountain. It fell over with a muted thud, cracking the stone almost right down the middle.

The monsters' resolve seemed to crumble. One yelled, "RETREAT!" and the hoards of demons and creatures took off down the hill. The demigods stood in stunned silence, some not even standing at all. It had been easy. Too easy.

They didn't question it. When you're pawns of the gods, luck doesn't tend to come your way.

A multitude of cheering teenagers rushed upon each other, hugging and jumping up and down, if they had the strength. The fifth cohort amassed into ranks, clustering over a very overwhelmed Reyna. They lifted her up, onto a shield.

Dakota cheered with the rest of his cohort. He knew what was coming next. He looked, grinning, towards Jason. His best friend was smiling, but it wasn't the familiar grin that Dakota was used to. Jason just looked very tired, very sad and a lot older than he should've.

Dakota really should have noticed that something was wrong then.

As it was, it wasn't until after Jason had also been hoisted upon a shield, next to Reyna, and declared praetors of the legion, and they had taken care of their wounded and had a proper burial ceremony for their dead, that Dakota finally got around to talking to Jason.

He found his friend in the armory, placing his helmet in it's proper place and stiffly undoing the straps. He winced slightly, so focused on his task that he didn't notice Dakota entering.

"Hey," Dakota said, tossing his armor into it's cubby, not bothering with organization. That could wait. "Pretty good day, huh? All things considered, anyway."

"Huh?" Jason said distractedly. "Oh. Yeah. Yeah, I guess."

"Well, at least that Titan is gone. Hopefully for good this time," Dakota said. Jason nodded, but didn't say anything. Dakota frowned slightly. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," Jason muttered. "I'm always fine. I'm just... fine."

Dakota _really_ should've noticed the slight tremor in Jason's voice and the way his eyebrows were too close together and the way his mouth was set.

Instead, he stepped nearer to the son of Jupiter and grinned broadly. "And praetor, huh? That's great, dude!" He clapped Jason on the back, expecting a laugh and a punch on the shoulder in return.

Instead, Jason doubled over with a cry of pain. He staggered forwards and placed one hand on the wall in an attempt to steady himself, the other arm wrapped around his abdomen. His teeth were clenched as he ground out some sort of sentence, probably a failed attempt to convince Dakota that he was fine.

It didn't work. Dakota was immediately at his side, supporting him, as the wall and Jason's shaking hand wasn't doing much good. Jason sort of groaned and collapsed against Dakota, feverishly insisting that he was okay in a very unconvincing manner.

"Jason? Jason, what's wrong? What happened?" Dakota's eyes travelled to Jason's arm, still wrapped protectively around his stomach. "Jason, take off your armor." The son of Jupiter shook his head mutely. Dakota, somewhat guiltily, shifted Jason so that he was leaning against his chest and yanked the chest plate off. Jason bit his lip and clasped his hands to his side.

"Jason, come on, let me see!" Dakota grabbed his friend's hands and pulled them away from his side. "Oh my gods..."

Jason cried out again. His hands were bloody, the source of which was a gash in his side that had stained his skin and the purple fabric of his t-shirt a dark red. Dakota didn't even know how his friend had remained standing for this long, but Jason's pale face and the tremors running through his body screamed extreme blood loss.

How had he not noticed.

"HELP!" Dakota yelled, praying to the gods that someone would hear him. "SOMEBODY HELP ME!" He looked down at Jason. "What... how?"

"Krios," Jason gasped. "Wasn't... fast... enough." He was taking in gasping breaths, trying to override the pain.

"Why didn't you tell me? Tell someone? Get help?" Dakota wanted to have some reassurance that this wasn't totally his fault, but with the look in Jason's eyes, he knew that wasn't going to happen. "You idiot! You're not always the least important guy in the room! You should've gone to the healers or something!"

In response, Jason's eyes rolled back into his head and he went limp against Dakota's chest.

"No, Jason, stay awake-SOMEONE GET IN HERE!" Dakota frantically pressed his hands to Jason's side. "Stay awake, _precor_. Don't die on me, you stupid-HELP!"

He heard footsteps outside, followed by a cool breeze on his face, and assumed that one of the Lars had gone for help. He clutched Jason's unconscious form a little tighter and whispered into his hair.

"I'm sorry."

* * *

When Dakota woke up on October 12, he had big plans.

It had been one month and twenty-seven days since the Titan war had ended. One month and eighteen days since Jason had recovered from the wound he had sustained during the final battle. One month since he had been made centurion of the fifth cohort and Jason and Reyna had officially taken the reigns of Camp Jupiter. Twenty-four days since the first child of Pluto, a guy named Nico Di Angelo, had been seen in centuries. Twelve days since that same child of Pluto had brought them his sister, a petite African American girl named Hazel, who had pretty much immediately slipped into the small gang that consisted of Dakota, Jason, and Gwen. And today they were skipping training.

After the war had ended, this had become a rather common occurrence, and Jason and Reyna didn't really try and stop it. Heck, they did it too, sometimes. Most everyone did, and no one had the heart to tell anyone to keep the rigorous training schedule that too often brought on flashbacks of the war. Hazel, being a newcomer and rather old-fashioned, had protested, but finally had been convinced.

Dakota pulled on jeans and a t-shirt and slipped out of the barracks, leaving his armor behind. He jogged towards the _principia_, where he could see the forms of Gwen and Hazel waiting for him.

"Morning, ladies." He grinned and swept them a bow. "What's on the agenda for today?"

Hazel smiled softly at him, while Gwen smirked. "I don't know, our captain and good Grace isn't here yet."

Dakota rolled his eyes. "I should've known he'd be the one to sleep in." He shrugged. "While we're waiting..." He tapped Gwen's shoulder and began to run. "You're it!"

Hazel squealed and joined in the game.

The three of them played Tag on the grass for a while, at least until Dakota tripped over his own feet and was tackled by both Gwen and Hazel, leaving all of them in a laughing pile on the lawn.

Suddenly, Gwen sat up. "Guys, what time is it?"

Dakota and Hazel sat up too, still giggling. They looked around. There were a few demigods milling around, but they could hear the clanging of swords and shouting from the arenas. Training had already begun.

"Where's Jason?" Gwen said. "He should be here by now."

"He probably forgot," Hazel suggested, her amber eyes looking worried.

Dakota stood up and brushed off his pants. "He probably didn't go to sleep and stayed up all night working. Again." He sighed. "I'll bet you he's passed out at his desk. Again. I'll go look for him."

"Alright," Gwen said, looking nervous. "We'll wait here."

Dakota flashed her a grin and trotted off towards Jason's house. He wasn't too worried. The blonde demigod could be... well, a blonde, if he wasn't avoiding stereotypes. Jason often forgot to take care of himself, as years of their friendship showed. Dakota really could do nothing about it, except for remind Jason to eat something every day and force him to sleep when that became necessary.

He arrived at Jason's house and pushed the door open. "Jay?" He stepped inside. "Are you up?"

The house was warm and to an outsider, looked exactly like a teenaged boy's house would look. It was comfortably messy, but not dirty. There were some things in strict order, such as the books on their shelves or sheaves of papers on the coffee table, but then there were the clothes lying about, the pieces of armor and weapons sticking out of odd places and the empty mugs lying on the arms of the couches and chairs and resting on shelves and tables and the floor. Dakota usually felt right at home, but today, the house seemed quiet. Too quiet.

Dakota walked through the foyer to the hallway. Jason's room was at the end.

"Hey, Grace, wake up." Dakota knocked on the door. "You'd better be decent, because I'm coming in!"

He pushed the door open. Empty. The bedclothes were rumpled, but it was obvious the bed hadn't been used lately. Jason's toga was hanging over the end of the bed, his purple cape folded neatly on the chest below it.

Dakota frowned and looked towards the bedside table. Jason's coin was gone, but there was a mass of papers with things scrawled on it. It looked to be war strategy, so Dakota left it alone. He looked around the room again.

"Okay, guess you didn't sleep then," Dakota mumbled before exiting the bedroom.

He decided to check the office next. The door was ajar and Dakota could hear sound from inside. He walked into the room. Jason's computer was sitting on the desk, running. Demigods and technology didn't usually mix, but Jason was especially good with his laptop. Something to do with controlling air waves and radio waves. Traditional Roman music floated out of the speakers, breaking the silence in the air, but the sound was down low. Papers were sitting, abandoned, strewn out across the desk's wooden surface. Books were lying open and Post-It notes adorned the pages. A pen was leaking ink over some doodles drawn on a legal pad.

Everything there. Except Jason.

Something inside Dakota's stomach decided to reappear and bury itself into a lump that screamed _wrong_. Dakota turned on his heel and ran to the middle of the house.

"JASON!" he shouted, turning in a slow circle in an attempt to see any movement. "FUNNY, DUDE, YOU CAN COME OUT NOW!"

No answer.

"Jason?"

Nothing.

"JAY, WHERE ARE YOU? THIS ISN'T FUNNY ANYMORE!" The lump in Dakota's stomach began to turn into full-blown panic. "JASON, ANSWER ME!"

The house remained silent.

The door opened.

Dakota turned in relief... just in time to see Reyna step in. "Jason, I need you to-" She stopped when she saw Dakota. "Um, hi."

"Hi," Dakota said.

"Where's Jason?"

Dakota's breath caught in his throat. "You mean he's not with you?"

"What?" Reyna said, stepping towards him. "Of course he's not with me. I thought he was here."

"No," Dakota whispered. "He's not."

"Well, then where is he?"

"I don't know." And Dakota turned and ran.

He didn't really know where he was going. He remembered running back to the _principia_, shouting Jason's name as he went. Gwen and Hazel looked confused and upset when he ran up to them. They split up and went to look for Jason. Dakota checked the usual places, the unusual places and the few secret spots that no one knew about but them. He called until his voice was hoarse and ran until his legs felt like jelly and he was sure that he was going to just fall over.

And yet there was still no sign of his best friend.

He ended up by center of the camp, where war games started. The first place he had seen the son of Jupiter, at eight years old. He found himself sitting on a crate of Imperial Gold weapons without recalling how his legs had moved there. He buried his face in his hands and accepted the thing he had most feared.

Jason was gone.

And Dakota didn't know if he was ever coming back.

* * *

Riding on the back of a dragon gave Jason too much time to make too many mistakes.

Piper had fallen asleep, leaning on his chest. It wasn't exactly uncomfortable, but Jason wasn't particularly fond of how she had done it without asking, and how he didn't protest. He liked to think that that was because he was a nice guy, and maybe it was, but he also knew that he really liked Piper. A lot. Which meant he didn't want to hurt her, which in turn meant that he couldn't lead her on. And that included being used as her pillow.

Leo was whistling in front of them, a tune that sounded vaguely Spanish, though Jason wasn't sure. Something about Leo... his dark curly hair and his grin and the way he would move and sometimes touch Jason on the shoulder, or cuff him in the arm, the way he talked to him... it reminded Jason of someone. Or it would, if there was someone to remember.

He shivered, and it had nothing to do with trying to remember. The freezing palace really had done a number on him, and now he was trying not to shake too hard, so he wouldn't wake Piper.

"You okay?" Leo's voice came floating back. Jason snapped out of it.

"Yeah, I'm good." Jason shivered again as Leo glanced back.

"Are you cold?" Leo glanced down at his hands. "I could fix that."

"Nah, I'm fine," Jason said. "The Boreads' freezing air conditioning sort of won't go away. But I'll be fine."

"Hey," Leo said, reaching back. "Air Leo has no time for freezing passengers. Besides, we can't have you turning into a Jasicle. That might be a bit unfortunate for the rest of the world.

Leo's hand clasped Jason's wrist and warmth immediately flooded through him. Leo was warm, extremely warm and Jason knew why he had been completely okay in the Boreads' palace, and why they hadn't let him into their ice sculpture room. One step and Leo might have melted the whole place.

Jason hadn't realized that the tension had gone out of his shoulders, or that his eyes were dropping until Leo let go. The wonderful, constant heat vanished, leaving a glowing feeling in Jason's chest. In any case, he was warm.

"Better?" Leo asked hopefully. Jason stared at him and smiled.

"Yeah. Thanks, Dakota-" He stopped, the breath freezing in his lungs.

"Dakota? Who's Dakota?"

"My-" What was he going to say? Enemy? Friend? Brother? "I, um, I don't know. It's-" A stabbing pain erupted in front of his eyes and he found himself gripping the side of the dragon to keep from falling off. "Uhh..." He squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to keep the pain at bay.

"Whoa," Leo said, twisting around in his seat and grabbing Jason's shoulders. Festus seemed to sense something wrong and slowed down a bit, rocking his passengers less. Piper slept on. "Don't strain yourself, Jay."

The nickname sent another wave of pain through Jason's head and he slumped forwards, Leo trying to hold him up. What was going on? He clenched his hand around the fabric of Leo's shirt, trying to ground himself. He had had these memory aches before, but nothing like this. Obviously this Dakota person-just thinking the name made Jason want to pass out-had meant a lot to him.

"Jason!" Leo was talking to him. "Jason, snap out of it!"

Jason gasped, and his vision refocused. He sucked in cool air rapidly and loosened his grip on Leo. "I'm okay."

"Yeah, sure," Leo said, unconvinced. "You're shaking again."

Jason realized he was trembling all over, but this time it had nothing to do with the cold.

Leo kept his hands on Jason's shoulders for a bit longer. "Are you good now?"

Jason swallowed and nodded. "I... I think so."

Leo grinned, though it was a few shades darker then Jason was used to. "Good. Now, you go join Piper in Dreamland and let Uncle Leo fly the dragon and do the worrying. Okay?"

Jason laughed a little at that. "Okay."

Of course, that was when they fell out of the sky.

* * *

Dakota didn't know how to react to Percy.

He was pretty sure the son of Neptune thought he was an idiot. In his defense, his drinking habits had gotten worse over the past six months, and now there was hardly a time when he was completely sober, if sober at all. So if he was wandering around, talking like a drunken idiot, then he really couldn't be blamed, because that's what he was.

He tipped a flaskful of Kool-Aid back and glanced over at Percy. The son of Neptune was looking anxiously at the sky, watching the giant warship land. Hazel and Frank stood nearby him. Dakota thought again of how distant Hazel had become after Jason's disappearance.

Percy was wearing a toga and a purple praetor's cape, having been raised on a shield after the battle for Camp Jupiter. It reminded Dakota bitterly of a similar battle and similar circumstances.

He didn't dislike Percy, but he didn't like him either. It may have been because he reminded him so much of his best friend. They were both stubborn, courageous, determined, loyal. Both leaders and both sons of the Big Three. And Dakota wanted both of them to be happy.

He watched with baited breath as the rope ladder descended and he watched figures climb down. There was a blonde girl, a brunette, a guy who basically just jumped from the belly of the ship... and then a familiar figure climbed down.

The Romans amassed on them and Dakota lost sight of the brief glimpse of Jason. He hung at the back of the crowd, not really caring what was going on with the Greeks. His heart swelled, excited for the reunion that surely awaited him. Jason would probably find him, throw him a grin, and they would continue like eight months had never separated them. They'd go through the war together and then hopefully their dangerous lives would be left for some other generation of demigods.

Yeah, right. When did luck ever go their way.

First of all, Jason didn't even look his way. He talked to Reyna, briefly, hugged Hazel and made small talk with some other legionnaires, but Dakota wasn't even given a glance. Jason avoided him and the others, choosing to sit at the table where apparently the chosen demigods of the prophecy were sitting.

Dakota tried to go up to him after dinner, but the weird kid, Leo, bumped into him and sent him reeling on unsteady feet into an _aura_, who squeaked and dropped her pitcher of juice. He helped her clean it up, considering he had a particular talent with squeezed fruit. When he got done with that, someone was yelling for an attack of the Greeks, fire was being flung done upon them, and Jason was running away with his new friends.

He deserved the brick.

* * *

Jason really didn't want to hurt Dakota.

He didn't have his memory back entirely yet. He didn't know if he ever would. Some things were still fuzzy, and the thing he couldn't remember was the exact measure of his friendship with Dakota.

He wasn't sure how close they'd been. There was definitely a bond there, some sort of friendly warmth that Jason felt whenever he thought of the son of Bacchus. He remembered things they had done-sledding down the hill on shields, going on quests, playing tag in the _principia_-but he couldn't remember why or when or how he had felt.

So when it came down to helping his friends who would save the world, or betrayed Dakota's trust for a minute and knocking him out, he may have chosen the wrong one for their friendship, but it was the right choice in the end.

Wasn't it?

Meanwhile, Dakota was coming to in the back of an SUV. Reyna was sitting beside him and holding an ice pack to his forehead. Octavian was driving and ranting at the same time, which made Dakota wish he was still unconscious. Reyna placed his hand over the ice pack and removed hers.

"He's not the same," she said, her eyes hard. "He's not our leader and he is not our friend." She looked down. "Not anymore."

The lump that Dakota had felt when Jason had first disappeared returned. He turned away from the other praetor and stared out he window at the rapidly moving countryside and wished he had never met Jason Grace.

* * *

They didn't see each other again until after the final battle.

The giants were defeated. Demigods were dead. The gods' power had been depleted. Leo Valdez had almost died trying to get back to some island that no one had ever been to, except Percy Jackson, who was the one to hold him back. Hazel had been granted a pardon from the Underworld and she and Frank were currently off somewhere, making sure that they weren't separated again. Nico Di Angelo had disappeared during one of the last battles and no one had heard from him since. Annabeth Chase was in a coma and Percy hadn't left her bedside. Piper McLean had decided to get on the first flight to go see her father.

And Jason Grace was sitting at the edge of the battlefield, with his head in his hands.

Dakota walked up to him and sat down. "Hey."

Jason looked up. His eyes were red-rimmed and glassy. "Hey."

Dakota took his flask from his belt and took a swig. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For not being there when you needed me. For not trusting you. For throwing a brick at your head."

"That was you?" Jason asked, eyebrows raised.

"Yeah." Dakota smiled sheepishly. "Anyway, I'm sorry."

Jason shrugged. "Me too. I wasn't the best friend." He let out a shaky laugh. "I wasn't much of a friend at all."

Dakota smiled at that. He took a breath. "I missed you."

"I missed you too, Kota."

Dakota's eyes widened. "I haven't heard that..." He paused. "... in a long time."

"I haven't said it in a long time," Jason replied. "I missed it." He looked down at his hands. "I missed a lot of stuff."

"Well, you're back."

"Yeah. I'm back."

"So..." Dakota said. "I heard something about you staying at Camp Half-Blood."

"Yeah." Jason shook his head and let out a breathy laugh. "It's funny. The entire time I was there, I was basically wishing I wasn't. I wanted to remember, Kota. I really did."

Dakota took in his friend's face. Jason's eyes looked older, much older, and too sad. His face was hard and weathered and his hands were clasped together on his lap.

"I know," Dakota said. "I do." Jason looked at him, something like hope gleaming in his eyes. "But don't think this means that you're forgiven, Grace. I'm still mad. You could've called."

Jason laughed. "I promise that I won't leave my phone at home again."

"You don't have a phone," Dakota said, slinging an arm around Jason's shoulders.

Jason grinned, something Dakota had missed seeing. "I'm glad I'm home, Kota."

"Me too," Dakota said. "Promise you won't just drop off the face of the earth again?"

"I promise," Jason said. He slipped an arm around his friend and squeezed. "I'm not going to leave again."

"I wouldn't let you," Dakota told him.

They sat together in silence for a few long moments, soaking in the setting sun. Then Dakota released his friend and stood up.

"I'll race you," he said.

Jason grinned. "You're on."

They took off, sprinting through the grass, laughing, like they were seven again and broken promises and war and hurt hadn't cracked through their foundations. And just for a moment, it was like nothing had ever gone wrong, like they had never gotten lost. Like nothing had changed. And the shadows danced around their ankles and created long stretches of darkness that did nothing to dampen the spirits that had risen high for some blissful moment, until they might come crashing down again.

Camp Jupiter provided a lot of things that demigods needed to survive, but the one thing that it hadn't given them was a friend.

They had found that themselves.

* * *

**WAAAAAAAHHHHH!**

**Oh, I made myself cry... just give me a moment...**

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